Transsexualism—
Transsexualism (or TS) was first used
in the 1950s to describe a person whose "core"
gender identity is fundamentally and irrevocably
the opposite of their visible
biological sex.
Transsexualism is a biological variation of
physical formation and medical practitioners
familiar with the condition readily diagnose it.
The man or woman affected by transsexualism
requires conclusive sex affirmation treatment,
to relieve their profound discomfort with the
sex assigned them at birth.
For men and women who experience
transsexualism the remedy is rehabilitative sex
affirmation treatment (being those hormonal and
surgical procedures also described as sex
reassignment treatment) to bring their body
into harmony with their innate or brain-sex
for its own sake and the harmony of mind and
body that it brings.
These men and women correct their
legal-identity (legal-sex) however, the term is
not intended to mean they 'change sex'.
• •
examples
of statements by males with
transsexualism
'Gender Dysphoria'
In 1960, Dr. Harry Benjamin coined the term
'gender dysphoria', to describe the main symptom
of the transsexual condition. This term means,
a profound discomfort with the sex a
person is assigned at birth.
Transgender—
In 1970's the term 'transgender' was
coined by Virginia Prince, a male-bodied person
who wanted to live as a woman,
without the use of hormones or
surgery.
Transgender is a useful term for people who
do not fit the medical diagnosis of
transsexualism. Many transgender people use a
variety of medical and social measures in order
to more fully realise their gender expression
and relieve their discomfort between their
gender and assigned legal-sex.
Transgender is an experience where a person's
gender expression is contrary to their assigned
legal-sex. The term 'transgender' covers
a very broad range of identities. These
identities range from people who define
themselves as genderqueer, transmen, ftm,
third-sex, and many other terms.
"Unlike the majority of
transsexuals that "feel they were born that way"
many of those identifying themselves as
transgendered or gender-bending or
gender-blending persons are attracted to the
concept of a constructed gender and see
themselves and their lives as evidence of it.
Eschewing any strict male-female dichotomy,
transgendered persons instead reach for a wide
range of mixtures of male and female
restructured anatomies and manifest masculine
and feminine life-styles. …" (Diamond,
2000).
• •
examples
of statements by transgender FTMs
By 1981 the term 'transgender' was being
applied indiscriminately to the whole "gender
community" of cross-dressing and transgender
people, including transsexuals, and intersexed
people as an 'umbrella term'. This practice
culminated in its inaccurate use in the New
South Wales Anti-Discrimination Act and
eventual illinformed adoption by several other
State and Territory jurisdictions.
In countries such as Australia, where the
word transgender is widely used, it has
often generated the perception that the
experience is simply about 'changing one's
gender'. This is one example how the term
'transgender' fails men and women affected by
transsexualism who experience the
same gender since birth
throughout their lives.
• •
Transsexualism
101
Recently—
In 2002, in the Family Federal Court of
Australia, a man affected by transsexualism
"Kevin" was granted the right to marry
"Jennifer", his female partner, based on recent
understanding of the underlying biological cause
to the condition.
This landmark case signifies greater
community understanding and acceptance of
Australians who have experienced the natural
variation in physical formation called
transsexualism.
Men and women affected by transsexualism
bring their physical body into alignment with
their brain-sex, for its own sake and the
harmony of mind and body that it brings.
Summary—
In Australia, the term
transsexualism (TS) is used although some
groups have adopted the term 'transgender'. The
terms transsexual and transgender
are not interchangeable. They mean different
things, which is particularly significant in
medical and legal contexts.
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Citation
— What's in a name? (2004)
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